Paying it Forward in Penbrook, Dauphin County

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

This week’s Pay it Forward is in Penbrook, Dauphin County, where an injured police officer with a giving heart received a $200 surprise from his coworker.

Veteran Penbrook Police Officer Ron Frederick has been off the job since June 9th. While he was on his way to work, he got an accident that left him severely hurt.

“He does have some pretty bad injuries, that we don’t know the extent of the injuries is going to be,” said Todd Zwigart, Frederick’s coworker.

Officer Frederick’s sick leave is exhausted, but he still has a long road to recovery ahead.

Zwigart said Frederick is the perfect candidate for a Pay it Forward surprise.

Officer Frederick tried to keep it quiet, but what he did after taking a little boy’s stolen bike report is just one example of why he’s so deserving.

“He actually went out to a yard sale around his house and bought a bike for that child and brought it in to him on his next shift and gave it to the youngster, which is just an amazing person himself,” Zwigart said.

Penbrook’s Police Chief David Hiester called Officer Frederick to the department for a meeting, and that’s when Zwigart came knocking.

“Hi Ron, I’m here with FOX43 News. I’m here to Pay it Forward to you to help you out brother and I know you’ve been through a lot,” Zwigart told Frederick.

“Thank you very much,” Frederick replied. “Thank you.”

Officer Frederick is eager to get back to work.

“It’s been long, it’s been hard being off the job,” he said. “Not knowing what’s in store for the future.”

He knows when he does come back, the force will be happy to have him.

“It’s pretty awesome, Todd’s a great guy,” Frederick said. “I have a great bunch of friends.”

Doctors haven’t given Officer Frederick a timeline as to when he can return to work.

The accident left him with five broken ribs, a head injury, three fractures in his back and a torn knee.